Fuller suing Cowell

IT'S SIMON V SIMON Sep 11 2004
Pop gurus in rip-off row

By John Mceachran


X FACTOR'S Simon Cowell could lose £7million after the creator of Pop Idol began legal action against him for ripping off his reality TV show.

Furious Simon Fuller accused Cowell of breaches of contract and copyright - and demanded tonight's episode of X Factor be pulled.

But lawyers for Cowell and ITV spent yesterday frantically working behind the scenes to ensure TV's newest talent show stays on our screens.

Cowell could now lose out on contracts for two more series of Fuller's American Idol, which are worth £7million in total.

A TV insider said: 'This is war. Both sides are gunning for each other.'

Fuller's production company 19 TV yesterday delivered four writs to Cowell, his companies Simco and Syco and X Factor co-producer Fremantle Media.

They claim several members of X Factor's production team worked on Pop Idol and have clauses in their contract preventing them from working on rival shows.

They also claim X Factor has the same format as Pop Idol, down to the lighting, the positioning of the judges behind tables and even the way Kate Thornton waits by the door to speak to wannabes.

The source added: 'Fuller's lawyers compared one minute of Pop Idol to one minute of X Factor. There were 25 similarities. It's nine-tenths the same show.' But last night Cowell was not taking the accusations lying down.

Speaking from Mexico, where he is taking a break before filming American Idol, he said: 'It's totally absurd.

'As far as the writ from Simon Fuller is concerned, it's now in the hands of our lawyers." And Cowell's spokesman Max Clifford said: 'I'm surprised that when Pop Idol started they didn't get a writ from Popstars, Opportunity Knocks, New Faces and all the other talent shows that went before it.'

AnX Factor production insider said: 'It's not the same show at all. It might look similar because it's still at the audition process and we're limited in whatwe can do.

'Give it a few weeks and everyone will see it's totally different. Fuller is just jealous and wants a piece of the action.'